The New South Wales government has appointed an independent broker for when it need to purchase telecommunications services.

Making the announcement today, the Minister for Finance and Service Andrew Constance said this is the first time the government has used an independent broker.

"Housley Consulting has been engaged to review pricing, vendor offers, and help agencies focus on achieving value for money.

"We want to buy the right goods and services at the best possible price, and take full advantage of economies of scale," he said in a statement.

According to Constance, the NSW government has already realised savings of AU$3.3 million due to its review of whole-of-government telecommunications contracts, which reduced costs by about 11 percent.

As part of a series of IT reforms, the NSW government has also been using its new ICT Services Scheme to make it easier for businesses to work with the government. It was through this scheme that it brought Housley Consulting on board.

The NSW government has been at work consolidating its datacentres into two facilities in Silverwater and Unanderra. It is a timely project to undertake, considering that it recently released its Cloud Services Policy to guide agencies towards an as-a-service model where possible.